


Children of the night

by TerresDeBrume



Series: AUs without a cause [19]
Category: Actor RPF, Marvel Avengers Movies RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brothers, Gen, Vampire!Tom Hiddleston, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-26
Updated: 2013-02-26
Packaged: 2017-12-03 17:14:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerresDeBrume/pseuds/TerresDeBrume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You want your brother to be human again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Children of the night

The sky is red with all the blood Chris wishes he could shed, red with his tears and anger and hate -or maybe that’s just how sunset works. It’s funny how quick he was to forget that the end of the day could be a beautiful thing, how soon he settled into that state of quiet anticipation and carefully controlled rage.  
  
“Seething isn’t going to help anyone.”  
  
Chris turns and there he is, the one responsible for all this, for the loss and mourning and utter helplessness -Chris wants to spit in his face.  
  
“Please,” the other says, “Be my guest. It’ll dry.”  
“I don’t want anything to do with you,” Chris spits.  
  
A year ago -well, more like six months ago, really- Chris’ words would have elicited a surprised gaps, hurt painted on well-known features, maybe tears. There would have been a hand running through copper curls and a sigh, and maybe a pleading look from clear blue-green-grey eyes, a puppy face such as no one could resist -all looking so sincere it would have hurt.  
  
As it is though, Tom doesn’t even blink.  
  
“But you want something to do with your brother and  _he_  has everything to do with me.”  
“You’re the reason why he is what he is now, if you’d killed Keanu sooner none of this would have happened!”  
  
It’s irrational, he knows, to lash out at Tom like that. Chris could be dead in less than a second, wouldn’t even see it coming -or maybe he’d be like Liam, trapped in a world of darkness tasting of blood. He almost wants Tom to do it, almost wants to get bitten and finally be able to take care of his little brother like he was supposed to.  
  
“Well, if you’d killed Liam earlier it wouldn’t have happened either.”  
  
Chris’ knuckles break against Tom’s cheek, but the other man doesn’t move. He looks pale and gaunt in the fiery light, and Chris reminds himself not to worry about his health -that there’s no health to worry about anyway.  
  
“Carolus was my friend, my charge, almost a brother,” Tom says, harsh and to the point, “I couldn’t have killed him any more than you could have killed your sibling.” He sighs then, and it makes Chris’ fingers clench -the ones he didn’t break, at least. “I’ve been on this planet longer than anyone else. Nobody is as old as I am, and now that Carolus is gone, the age gap between the world and I has widened by at least half a millennium, maybe more. Maybe I should have killed him before and I didn’t, and what of it? Liam is not dead.”  
“He’s a monster!” Chris yells, and Tom answers in kind:  
“He’s a Vampire, not a Zombie! Why do you think I insisted to take him with me? I’m making sure he won’t be a danger for anyone and in a few months he’ll be back to his usual self, a year at the most! What more do you want?”  
“I want my brother here with me!” Chris says, throat raw from the force of his voice, “I want to fill that freaking gap where he used to be, I want him to still be a part of my family!”  
“He will be,” Tom says, voice dropping dangerously low, “Don’t worry he will. And when you and your grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren are long dead, he’ll still be there and other Vampires will be the only family he can hope to keep! You want him to be human, Chris, but he is not. I’m sorry about this, I would have prevented it if I could, but there’s no way to undo this: Liam is not a human anymore and if you want what’s best for him, you’ll help him accept that!”  
  
Chris wants to answer, wants to scream, wants to punch Tom until his beard turns crimson with blood. He wants the world to turn the other way around and the moon to shine brighter than the sun, he wants impossible things to become real and  _he can’t have them_  and he’s dying from the pain of not being able to let it all out. Chris wants the knot in his belly to loosen but every breath tightens it and even tears can’t get past it anymore.  
  
In front of him, Tom’s face is blank, not a trace of the hit he took minutes ago and that, more than anything else, forces Chris to understand that his little brother is lost.  
  
“Hi Chris,” Liam says behind him, making him jump.  
  
He didn’t realize it was night already.  
  
“Sorry,” Liam says with a little smile, “I haven’t caught the trick of making normal noises yet.”

 

Moonlight shines on his eyes, making them look golden, and Chris tries not to let his heart beat too fast.

 

“Hi, bro.”


End file.
